Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2023-19 Designation of Critical Habitat for Rice's Whales--Recorded — reading text

rule, regional impacts along with impacts to the fisheries and military are quickly noted and dismissed without further detailed analysis. Further, although the County is providing comments, sufficient time has not been provided by the Federal government to properly analyze the proposed rulemaking and to more thoroughly respond to the proposed rule. For that reason, the County is requesting an extension of time for submission of comments on the proposed rule. An extension of time is warranted given the proposed critical habitat designation relies on information that has not been made available to the public for review. In the preamble of NMFS' proposed critical habitat designation, a peer-reviewed study by Garrison et al. ( 2022) is referenced four times and noted for its significant contribution to NMFS' understanding of the scientific evidence informing the proposed designation. As an example, NMFS notes that Garrison et al. ( 2022) 2 " developed a density surface model to predict Rice's whale distribution in the GOMx". As the preamble goes on to detail, this density model appears significantly formative in terms of NMFS' stated understanding of the frequency of Rice' s whale across various isobaths of the Gulf of Mexico. General notice -and -comment principles, including those applied in ESA cases, require an agency to make such documents available for public review and comment. As of September 5, 2023, this study has not been made publicly available by NMFS or its authors. Additionally, at the first public hearing on the proposed designation on August 24, 2023, the public inquired about this study and its availability, with NMFS stating the study is still being revised and may be available this year. The public was then deprived of an opportunity to make a formal request for the version of the study upon which NMFS is relying when NMFS cancelled the second public hearing scheduled for August 30, 2023. We understand that the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Rice's whale does not carry with it any restrictions currently, but we are concerned that this is just a steppingstone to highly restrictive and economically devastating regulations. For the reasons stated above, Okaloosa County respectfully requests that NMFS, NOAA and Commerce reconsider and withdraw its proposed rule until further data, information and appropriate analysis is performed. Alternatively, Okaloosa County requests an extension of the comment period for the proposed rule 2 N. A., Powell, J. R., Morris, Jr. J. A., Soldevilla, M. S., Wickliffe, L. C., Jossart, J. A., MacKay, J. K., Randall, A. L., Bath, G. E., Ruvelas, P., Gray, L., Lee, J., Piniak, W., Garrison, L., Hardy, R., Hart, K. M., Sasso, C., Stokes, L., Riley, K. L. 2022. Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture. PLoS ONE 17( 9): e0267333. NOAA-NMFS- 2023- 0028 Rice' s Whale NMFS Objection Letter, October 3, 2023 Page 4 of 4 concerning Designation of Critical Habitat for Rice' s whale (NOAA-NMFS- 2023- 0028- 0001) and make the Garrison et at. (2022) study available in whichever form reliedupon by NMFS, including any updates or revisions considered by NMFS. The County further requests that NMFS extend the public comment period on the proposed designation by 60 days from the date when NMFS makes the requested information available to the public. The extension is also appropriate to allow the public sufficient time to analyze the connection between the information that is publicly available and " attributes", a novel concept announced in the proposed designation with little exposition, as relevant to the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of Rice' s whale. Sincerely, Robert A. " Trey" Goodwin, III Chairman, Okaloosa County